The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
The Flin Flon Bombers have moved on from the 2012-13 season as they look to their spring camp this month. In the beginning stages of developing their team for next season, the organization expects to see roughly 100 players attending the camp. The May 24-26 camp, being held in Saskatoon, will give the players the chance to compete for a roster spot for the 2013-14 season. 'Our expectations for camp are the same every year,' head coach and GM Mike Reagan wrote in an e-mail while hopping planes to Boston for a coaching position with a Western Canadian hockey team. '...to evaluate players that are on our list to determine (the) strength of our future players and to find guys that we think will battle for a spot on next year's team. 'We hope that the work we have done to find players in the last month has paid off,' he wrote. If Reagan and the organization don't see what they expect to see, the coach says they will 'need to try and find more players that we think will get us back to where we were this year as a team.' In previous years, the Bombers have welcomed roughly 35 or 45 players from spring camp to their main camp in August. '(It) depends on what we see at spring camp,' the coach said. The Maroon and white had a strong team this past season and Reagan says they are looking for players to replace the grit and skill that was lost at the end of the season. 'We believe that we have the ability to be in the same position we were in this year come playoff time.' Returning players to the Bombers will help fill the front line and blue lines, but the organization will still be looking for candidates to fill the voids left behind from players who aged out. 'On our back end we are going to be looking for a puck-moving D-man and a big physical shutdown guy that can log lots of minutes,' Reagan wrote. Although the team lost some key members, 'we have guys returning that will have their chances to step up and I know they are very capable.' The 2013-14 season comes with big expectations for the Flin Flon Bombers. '...we are very proud of the way we played last year in the playoffs and it has left our staff very motivated to recruit players that will get us back in that position and hopefully a few steps further,' said the coach. This week, Reagan has landed in Boston as he will return to coach a Western Canadian team like he has in previous years. Last year, Reagan took along Dillon McCombie, Brock Hounsell, Cam Blair, and Brandt Weldon to the tournament. Going solo this year, Reagan hopes to see some talent he can add to his own lineup with the Maroon and White. 'Its an exposure tournament for colleges and junior teams looking to fill rosters in the future. 'I will be down there this year with more intent on finding a few players for next year's team as we don't have any of our boys going this year.' The Bomber organization already has roughly 65 names on the list for their spring camp and they hope to reach triple digits.
